When I was in elementary school, I looked forward to sitting next to my friend Nina during lunchtime in the cafeteria. Nina was a bubbly, energetic girl that made me laugh. I enjoyed spending time with her…..and really enjoyed her lunch!

I was always impressed by the lunch that Nina brought from home every day. It was regularly made up of the same 3 things: a mini soda wrapped in aluminum foil (Pepsi, RC Cola, Shasta, etc.) ….. a bag of snack chips (Fritos, Ruffles, Doritos, etc.) ….. and a deli style sandwich roll with meat stacked so high (often corned beef or pastrami). It always smelled sooooo good.

My favorite part of Nina’s lunch was the brown paper bag it was packed in. Her mother Ellen Bloomstein would write a poem on her lunch bag every day. I couldn’t wait to sit down next to Nina at lunch and read what her mother had written on the bag. It was always something funny….or clever….or loving. My friend Nina didn’t seem to notice it too much, but I sure did.

Fast forward a few decades to 2007 when I met Julie Ross from Parenting Horizons. I took her Practical Parenting Workshop and learned about “love notes”. These are unconditional notes that a parent will leave somewhere for their child to see or read (depending on their age). Love notes are left where the child will find them…..like under their pillow, on their desk, or in their lunch bags. I remembered the wonderful feeling of reading Ellen Bloomstein’s poems on Nina’s lunches, so I knew for sure that my children’s lunch bags were the place that I wanted to leave my love notes.

Love notes are to be simple and made up of one sentence to make an impression on your child. They are to be written without judgement. They are a just a simple statement of love. For example: “You are the sunshine of my life” or “I am proud to be your mother.” While these sentences may be simple in language, they are grand with impact.

So, every morning I put a hand written love note in each one of my 3 children’s lunch bags. I keep a running list of love notes on my iPhone to use on those sleep deprived mornings when I am unable to think of something original. There are even companies that make love notes like Luncbox Love.

The notes are not to be asked about or acknowledged by the parent. The notes can be read to a young child by their teacher or day care worker, but not the parent. They are just supposed to be left in a place you know that the child will find them.

You may ask….”Audrey, how do you know if your child has seen the love note?” Well, on a day-to-day basis, I don’t. But, I did receive confirmation in 2 very special ways: The 1st was the day I found a love note addressed to me, from my daughter, on my place mat on our dining room table. The 2nd confirmation came the day that I was too rushed to write love notes for the lunch bags. My frustrated daughter came home from school and said, “Mommy, you forgot to put a note in my lunch bag today!” My heart melted and I never forgot to put a note in the lunch bag again.

I think of Ellen Bloomstein every time I write a love note. I am grateful to her for planting this wonderful seed of love in her daughter Nina…..and in me.